The Labors of Love: Short Stories

Newly Wed Interview

Prince's POV

"Genny babe, have you seen my shoes?"

"Which ones?" She asks standing at the vanity fixing her hair.

"The black ones." I ask popping my head out of my closet.

"Purple Love, you have dozens and dozens of black shoes. I need you to be more specific."

"The ones that go with this outfit." I walk out of my closet and stand behind her. My sheer high waisted pants sparkle in the light despite being pitch black. The whole suit looks like the night sky only interrupted by the bright white shirt I'll be wearing underneath.

"If you put the shoes under the outfit like I told you, you'd never lose them."

"Are you gonna criticize me or are you gonna help me find them?" She rolls her eyes and walks into my closet.

"If I walk in here and find these shoes, I'm gonna throw them at you."

"Good luck. I'm telling you they aren't in there." I watch as she checks every corner looking at each black shoe at the base of my closet.

"Babe, give me the step stool out of my closet." I walk in my sock covered feet across the carpet floor and into her closet. Her closet is much more organized than mine. Everything is divided by article of clothing and sorted from casual to special occasion in rainbow order. I find the small nook where she keeps her step stool and bring it over to my closet. I place it on the floor beside her. She reaches her hand out to me and I help her up the two steps so she can see the top of the closet.

"What makes you think it's up there?" She scans quickly, peeking into the boxes. Every now and then she takes a box down and examines it further.

"You haven't worn this suit yet so I thought you might not have taken the shoes out of the box." She reaches up on her toes to reach a box two heads above her.

"Need some help?" I ask watching her struggle.

"Nope, just open your arms and be ready to catch this box."

"Wait, what?" Before I know it shes jumped off the top step and smacked the box down with her hand. I catch the box but drop it immediately in an effort to catch her. She, as always, lands flat on her feet. She was a gymnast and she has amazing balance but i know one day her clumsiness is gonna catch up to her.

"Now, I'm not sure if those are it but it's the only box I couldn't reach. So it's probably the last pair you got." I open the box and see my black shoes. The glitter swirl detailing seems to smile at me from inside the shoe box. When she sees my satisfaction with the shoes she quickly takes the box from me before tossing it near my head. I give her a shocked look and she shrugs. "I told you I was gonna throw them."

"Will you please just get dressed and stop messing with me?"

"All I have to do is throw on my dress and shoes. You haven't even ironed your shirt or fixed your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Your curls are flat."

"Can you fix them?"

"You're lucky my curling iron is already plugged in." She motions me over to her as she walks toward the vanity. I take her place in the chair and she stand behind me. I watch closely as she carefully picks sections from my hair curling them with the iron and letting them fall. Once she's finished she unplugs the curling iron and shoos me out of her way. "Got put your face on. I'll iron your shirt." I get up no questions asked and throw on the little bit of makeup I've been wearing. It's takes me forever but by the time I'm finished a perfectly ironed shirt is laying next to my jacket on the bed.